


Exes and Uh Ohs

by potstickersss



Series: Modern Salem [7]
Category: Motherland: Fort Salem (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - After College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24578707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potstickersss/pseuds/potstickersss
Summary: Scylla's ex arrives and Raelle isn't sure how to feel.
Relationships: Abigail Bellweather & Raelle Collar & Tally Craven, Abigail Bellweather & Scylla Ramshorn, Abigail Bellweather/Libba Swythe, Gerit Buttonwood/Tally Craven, Raelle Collar/Scylla Ramshorn, Scylla Ramshorn & Porter, Tally Craven & Scylla Ramshorn
Series: Modern Salem [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1761226
Comments: 39
Kudos: 247





	Exes and Uh Ohs

**Author's Note:**

> An overview of the timeline so far:
> 
> -Scylla and Raelle met on the beach on September 10th  
> -They were friends for five weeks  
> -Raelle asked out Scylla at the beginning of the sixth week  
> -It is now the end of October and they have been dating for a week
> 
> This is nearly 6000 words... you're welcome.

_Slow and steady Collar. Slow and steady,_ Raelle chants silently to herself as she lays in the living room, sprawled on her stomach with her arm raised and ready to start lowering the block in hand.

The front door slamming shut startles Raelle, and she watches in horror as the block slips from her fingers.

It seems like everything slows down, and all she can do is watch the disaster about to unfold. The rectangular block hits the top of the tower, and, after a tense few seconds of wobbling, it inevitably tumbles to the floor with a loud crash.

"NOOOOO!"

"Yes!" Abigail shouts, and Scylla can only laugh as she watches Raelle scoop up some of the Jenga pieces looking devastated and betrayed.

"Tally! How could you?" Raelle shouts as Tally walks in, and for a split second, Tally has the decency to look guilty before it disappears, and panic replaces it.

"Sorry, Rae, but I have an emergency."

"What? What kind of emergency?" Abigail asks, quickly standing from her seat on the floor and Raelle is quick to sit up and face Tally, leaning back against the couch where Scylla is lying down.

Scylla automatically reaches out and drapes her arm over Raelle's shoulder, and Raelle is quick to reach up and link her fingers through Scylla's as they wait for Tally to explain.

"The kind where I told an incredibly cute guy that he was invited to my rager of a Halloween party tonight that starts in four hours?" Tally says with a sheepish grin, and Abigail blinks.

"I'm sorry, it sounded like you just said you are throwing a party, a party of which you did not discuss with us beforehand," Abigail says, and Tally immediately pouts.

"I know! I screwed up, but you guys, he is gorgeous, and I need this, so can you please just help me? I would if it were either of you in this position."

Abigail looks over her shoulder to Raelle and Raelle shrugs.

"Kind of cuts into the horror movie marathon Scylla and I planned for tonight, but I guess getting drunk will be fun too," Raelle says and then immediately pauses and looks up at Scylla, "I mean if that is okay with you?"

Scylla smiles and squeezes Raelle's hand. "It's more than okay. I haven't been to a party in a while. It could be fun."

"You guys are the best!" Tally squeals, and then everyone is focusing on Abigail.

"Alright, fine! But if there is any property damage, you are the one paying to fix it."

"Deal! Okay, Abigail, I need you to help me clean the house and contact every person we know. Raelle and Scylla, can you please go and buy alcohol and food? I made a list. And don't worry, it's on me," Tally says, tossing Raelle her credit card, which Raelle is quick to snatch out of the air.

"Dope."

"Oh, and one other thing. It's a costume party."

~~~~~

"What the hell are those?" Abigail demands when Raelle pulls out their last-minute costumes from the bag, and Raelle grins brightly.

"Our costumes!"

"No. No fucking way am I wearing any of these."

"Oh come on, Bellweather, stop acting like a High Atlantic and take the stupid costume," Raelle says, and Abigail crosses her arms with a shake of her head.

"No."

"Abi," Tally whines tugging on Abigail's arm with a pout. "Please just pick one. It's only for a few hours, and everyone will be drunk anyway."

Abigail glares at Tally for a solid minute before relenting.

"Ugh, fine!" Abigail shouts, and Raelle shares a grin with Scylla.

"Sweet. This one is yours." Raelle tosses the costume at Abigail, and she frowns, holding it up.

"Why do I get Eeyore?"

"Because you and your mopey ass like to ruin anything fun. Now go change."

Abigail scowls, and Raelle sends her an innocent grin before tossing the next costume at Tally, who grins and hugs it to her chest.

"Tally you are Tigger, Scylla is Piglet, and I'm Winnie the Pooh."

"You do realize these aren't actually costumes, right? They are onesies with hoods," Abigail says, and Raelle releases a loud sigh.

"Yes, Bellweather, I am aware. But it is Halloween, and this is all last minute. It was either this or a giant pineapple. Would you rather be a giant pineapple Abigail? Huh? Do you want to be Spongebob's house? Do you?"

Scylla laughs and tugs Raelle back by the collar of her shirt, so she stops pushing into Abigail's space. Abigail rolls her eyes and steps back.

"Whatever, I'm going to change. Set all this shit up," Abigail grumbles, and the three watch her go sharing amused grins.

"Tally, we got everything on your list. Where do you want everything?" Scylla asks as she and Raelle begin to empty the grocery bags while Tally takes care of the alcohol.

"I think the food can stay on the table and the liquor on the island counter with the cups. The beer can go in one cooler and the pop and water in the other. We can set them on two chairs to make them more accessible."

Scylla nods, and in a few minutes, everything is ready.

"All the house speakers are hooked up to my phone. I made a playlist for tonight, and all the furniture has been pushed back in the living room. The guest rooms upstairs are locked, and I put away all our electronics and anything breakable. The basement is now clean so people can play pool and beer pong down there," Tally says and Raelle nods.

"Cool. What about the backyard?"

"Abigail strung up some lights on the fence and deck, and the hot tub is sealed. We figured there is no point in covering the pool up since someone will mostly fall in or jump after consuming too much alcohol, and I'd rather them not get wrapped in a tarp and die."

"Smart," Raelle mumbles around a cracker.

"I still can't believe you guys live in this house," Scylla says as she reaches into the bowl full of Doritos and Raelle chuckles.

"Thank god for Bellweather money."

"And a mother's guilt," Tally adds, and Scylla raises her brows. "My mom thinks she can make up for all the stuff she does by giving me too much money."

"I see," Scylla murmurs and reaches for another chip.

"My parents just love me and agreed to pay for my rent," Raelle says with a mouthful of gummy worms that she had added to the list when out shopping, as well as the rest of the candy spread out.

Scylla rolls her eyes fondly, and Tally shakes her head with a tiny smile.

"Yes, we get it, your parents are amazing," Abigail says as she walks into the kitchen now dressed in her onesie.

Tally and Raelle gasp loudly, and Scylla bites her lip to hide her smile when Raelle immediately pulls out her phone and snaps a picture of a grumpy Abigail, making an uncanny impression of Eeyore.

"Put on the hood!" Tally says, holding up her phone now too and Abigail scowls.

"No. Go get dressed."

Tally sighs and grabs her outfit. "Fine. Maybe your costume should have been Grumpy from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

Raelle snickers and grabs her and Scylla's onesies before linking fingers with Scylla and leading her down the hall to her bedroom.

"Bellweather hates the outfit, huh?" Scylla says as she shuts the door behind her.

"She's just cranky that it's Halloween. She hates the holiday. I think it's because she never got to trick or treat as a normal kid. Her mom is a hardass and kind of robbed her of a real childhood."

"That's sad. I remember my parents never missed the chance to take me trick or treating."

Raelle hums and pulls off her sweater, leaving her in a white tank top and shorts.

"My parents always had the best-decorated house on the block. It was so scary that most of the kids couldn't make it halfway up the walkway. I always ended up with so much candy just from my house alone."

Scylla chuckles and strips out of her sweater and sweatpants and pulls on her Piglet onesie while Raelle is distracted with her own.

"Oh man, this is so comfy! Best purchase I've ever made using Tally's money hands down," Raelle says as she twists and bends in the oversized suit, and Scylla has to agree once she has hers zipped up. There is so much room she and Raelle could probably fit into one.

"They are."

Oh my god, you are adorable," Raelle gasps when she turns around, and Scylla grins.

"Look who's talking."

"Guys, are you ready yet? I want to see!" Tally shouts from the outside of the door, and Scylla is quick to open it for her.

"We are so cute!" Tally squeals and bounds into Raelle's room to pull them into a hug.

Raelle laughs and pulls back.

"Let's get this party started."

~~~~~~

Somehow Tally and Abigail managed to get half the school to show up at the party, and Raelle thinks it might have helped that both their lacrosse and soccer teammates sent out invitations to everyone they know too.

There are so many people jammed in the house that Raelle started shoving people out into the yard with Abigail's help. As everyone knows of them, they were quick to cooperate, not wanting to deal with the Collar/Bellweather wrath that can emerge when people refuse to follow their requests.

"Babe! There you are," Raelle shouts when she walks back into the house in search of Scylla. Eventually, she finds her in the basement at the beer pong table with Tally.

"Hey," Scylla says and immediately sends Raelle a wide grin. "Rae, you just missed it. Tal and I kicked Gerit and Porter's asses."

"I wouldn't say it was an ass-kicking, Jelly Bean."

Raelle frowns when a tall blonde guy dressed in a white baseball outfit suddenly appears, wrapping his arm around Scylla's shoulders.

"It was you're just a sore loser," Scylla says, peering up at him with a smirk.

Raelle flicks her gaze to Tally, who is standing slightly behind Scylla, looking a bit uncomfortable when she meets Raelle's gaze.

 _"Ex-boyfriend,"_ Tally mouths pointing to the guy and Raelle's stomach drops.

"Rae? Are you listening?"

Raelle startles and pulls her gaze from Tally to focus on Scylla, who has reached out and taken her hand.

"Sorry, um, I got distracted. What were you saying?" Raelle asks with a tight smile, and Scylla frowns, tilting her head a little to the side as she studies Raelle's face.

"I was introducing you to Porter. We grew up together and dated for a bit when I was in high school."

Raelle nods and turns her attention to Porter, attempting to send him a polite smile when all she wants to do is tug Scylla out from under his arm. "Nice to meet you, Porter."

"You as well, Raelle. Jelly Bean hasn't stopped talking about you all night. I've been anxiously awaiting your arrival," Porter says with an easy grin and Raelle glance at Scylla, her smile softening a little when she meets Scylla's affectionate gaze.

"Yeah, sorry about the wait. I had to shove some people outside to avoid overcrowding upstairs."

"Has Bellweather relaxed her grip on the reigns a little, at least?" Scylla asks and steps out from under Porter's arm much to Raelle's relief.

Raelle chuckles and pulls Scylla closer wrapping her arms around Scylla's waist.

"Not in the slightest. Abigail keeps yelling at people not to touch anything. And Libba is not helping matters. She keeps riling her up like always. I honestly think they will have hate sex by the end of the night. No way that tension is not going to erupt."

"Abi and Libba? No way," Tally interjects, and Raelle raises a brow.

"Wanna bet on that, Craven?"

"You're on Collar. Fifty bucks Abigail sleeps with anyone but Libba."

Raelle grins. "Make it one hundred."

"Deal."

Raelle reaches out to shake Tally's hand, and Scylla chuckles.

"Who's Libba?" A second guy asks, and Raelle frowns, glancing at Scylla and then Tally.

"Who the hell is this guy?"

"Oh, this is Gerit!" Tally says, and when Raelle is still looking confused, Tally leans in to whisper in her ear. "The cute guy I told about the party."

Understanding dawns on Raelle, and when Tally pulls back, she takes a minute to sweep her eyes over him. He's dressed identically to Porter in a white baseball uniform. The only difference is he has a baseball bat resting over his shoulder. Raelle can tell why Tally is attracted to him. His messy dark hair, deep brown eyes and dimples give him a boyish charm that Tally always love in a guy. It doesn't hurt that he has an athletic build.

"So I'm going to grab another drink. Anyone want anything?" Porter asks, and Scylla immediately nods.

"I'll come with you. Rae, what would you like?"

"Whatever you are drinking is fine."

Scylla nods, pressing a quick kiss to Raelle's cheek, and then she and Porter are heading upstairs.

"What about you, Tally? Can I get you anything?" Gerit asks, and Tally grins.

"Gin and orange juice, please."

"On it."

Tally and Raelle watch him go, and then Tally is whirling to face Raelle with wide eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"What? Why wouldn't I be?" Raelle asks, and Tally sends her a hard look.

"Rae, come on."

"I'm fine, Tal. Really. Was I just kind of sidelined by seeing my girlfriend so comfortable with a random dude? Sure. But I'm good. I'm chill. So chill."

"You are not chill," Tally hisses and Raelle grimaces.

"Okay, maybe not, but what can I do Tal? He seems nice, and you heard what Scylla said, they've known each other since they were kids. He's more than an ex. He's a best friend. I'm not going to let this gross jealousy I am feeling ruin the night. Scylla deserves better than a possessive and jealous girlfriend. I know I hated it when my exes did that. So we are just going to let it go, okay?" Raelle says, and Tally relaxes slightly.

"You're right. There is no reason to get all crazy. It's not like Porter is hitting on her, and before you showed up, he was not overly friendly or jealous when she mentioned you. He seemed genuinely happy for her."

"Really?" Raelle asks, and Tally nods.

"It seems they are good friends and that's it. I promise. You know I'm a genius when it comes to noticing these kinds of things."

"You are. Okay, I trust you."

~~~~~~

Raelle shouldn't have trusted Tally or drank those delicious mixed drinks Gerit kept handing her. She's on her sixth, or is it her ninth cup? Raelle doesn't know. All she knows for sure is that she is stupid drunk and her girlfriend is dancing with her ex-boyfriend to a song that exes should not be dancing to.

Raelle tips her cup up to her mouth and frowns when nothing hits her tongue. She pulls the cup away and smacks the end of it like that will magically fill her cup with another cocktail.

She needs another drink.

Raelle looks around the kitchen in search of Gerit, who she is now claiming as her personal bartender. He's like a wizard when it comes to alcohol. But that wizard doesn't seem to be around.

Shrugging, Raelle focuses on the bottles of liquor in front of her and decides to try mixing a drink.

She doesn't know what she pours into her cup or how much of each type of alcohol, but when Raelle finishes topping it up with Sprite and takes a sip, she can't even taste it.

Did she even put alcohol in it?

"Jesus Collar, you are fucked."

Raelle blinks slowly and looks across the island counter to see Libba watching her.

"Libba! Hey. You have an axe in your head."

Libba raises her brows and slowly nods. "It's a prop Collar. You know, because it's Halloween and Craven demanded I participate in the stupid costumes."

"Right. Halloween! Did we go trick or treating already?" Raelle gasps. "Does that mean there is candy?"

"Oh, wow. Okay, I'm just going to-" Libba reaches out and snatches Raelle's solo cup, "-take this away from you, and we are going to get you some water, alright?"

"I guess I am thirsty," Raelle mumbles, and Libba pats her hand.

"I'm sure you are. Come on, come sit."

Raelle allows Libba to maneuver her into a chair, and then there is a cold bottle of water in her hand.

"That feels nice," Raelle slurs and brings the bottle to her lips, taking a long gulp.

"Maybe you should sit outside? It's a lot cooler out there," Libba suggests and Raelle nods.

"Kay."

A beat of silence passes.

"You kind of have to stand and walk to the door, Collar," Libba says, and Raelle frowns.

"Right. I can do that." After a few seconds of intense concentration, Raelle looks up at Libba. "Yeah, I can't do that."

"God, I can't believe I'm about to do this," Libba mutters, and then Raelle is being lifted from the chair bridal-style.

"Swythe, why are you manhandling my best friend?"

"Abi!" Raelle grins and waves from her place in Libba's arms when she sees Abigail walking over.

"Your best friend is practically paraplegic at this point; there is that much alcohol in her system," Libba comments dryly, not pausing in her mission to take Raelle outside.

"Fuck," Abigail mutters and Raelle giggles.

"You two totally should."

Libba trips over the threshold of the sliding door when Raelle says that, nearly sending the two of them to the ground, but Abigail's quick reflexes keep them upright.

"Jesus Collar. Don't say shit like that," Libba mutters, and Raelle laughs as Libba drops her into a lounge chair on the deck.

"Where's Scylla? She can get her to shut up," Abigail says, and immediately, Raelle sobers slightly.

"Scylla's with _Porter_ ," Raelle says, practically spitting the boy's name and Libba shares a look with Abigail.

"Who the fuck is Porter?" Abigail asks, and Raelle pouts, curling up in a ball on the chair.

"Her perfect ex-boyfriend. Stupid asshole is actually a super nice person which means I can't hate him even though, I really, really, really, really, really want to."

"That was a lot of really's," Libba whispers to Abigail, earning an elbow to the ribs in response.

"And he calls her Jelly Bean? Like what is that? Plus, he's smart and going to be an engineer or something. And you know what else? He has rescue animals. Five of them! And- and he volunteers with the elderly and children with disabilities."

"Oookay," Abigail drags out while Libba whistles.

"Someone is jealous."

"I am not!" Raelle shouts and Libba holds her hands up in surrender.

"Okay, you're not." Libba pauses. "Except you totally are."

Abigail slaps Libba's arm before moving to crouch next to Raelle when she catches the wobble of Raelle's bottom lip.

"Hey, Rae, come on. Scylla is crazy about you. And you are also super drunk, which isn't helping your thought process. It's okay to be a bit jealous, it's natural," Abigail whispers, brushing the hair out of Raelle's face and Raelle pouts.

"I don't want to be jealous."

"I know, but sometimes you can't help it. And usually, when you feel jealous, it means there is an underlying emotion tied to it. Maybe some insecurities you have surrounding your relationship?" Abigail says carefully, and Raelle drops her gaze to her fingers that are picking at the edge of the chair.

"Maybe," Raelle mumble and Abigail nods.

"It's okay. I promise. But you need to talk with Scylla about what you are feeling. If you don't, your jealousy will build and turn into something much uglier like possessiveness and obsession or paranoia."

Raelle looks up at that. "I don't want to be those things. Those are bad."

"Then talk to your girlfriend. She will understand, alright?"

Raelle nods and Abigail smiles before getting to her feet. "Drink the rest of that water. I'll go grab Scylla."

Abigail moves to head to the door only to stop when Libba grabs her arm. "How do you know so much about that stuff?"

"I take psychology as an elective each year. You learn a few things."

Libba hums and releases Abigail.

"Good to know."

While Libba moves to sit with Raelle, Abigail heads inside to find Scylla. She finds her dancing with -who Abigail can only assume- is Porter and immediately understands Raelle's current state. Seeing them dancing as close as they are can definitely cause some ugly thoughts.

"Ramshorn with me," Abigail barks when she reaches the pair and Scylla immediately stops dancing and step back from Porter so she can focus on Abigail.

"Abigail, what's wrong?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe that you've been neglecting your girlfriend all night to hang with Wonderbread over here, and now she is drunk off her ass," Abigail snarks and Scylla's eyes immediately widen.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. Now come on, I'm not going to be responsible for babysitting Collar all night."

Scylla nods and immediately follows after Abigail, but when they reach the deck, Raelle is not there. Nor is Libba.

"For fuck sakes," Abigail grumbles as she starts looking around for her idiot of a best friend and her sort of frienemy.

"Bellweather, we got a problem."

Abigail whirls around when she hears Libba behind her, who is just reaching the top step of the deck.

"What kind of problem? Where the fuck is Raelle?" Abigail demands and Libba grimaces.

"Collar made a break for it. I went inside to grab her another water, and when I came back out, she was hopping over the side fence that leads to the front of the house. Now she is attempting to climb the massive oak tree in the neighbour's front yard."

Abigail scowls and then immediately turns to face Scylla. "Fix this."

Scylla nods and heads for the front door only to run into Porter.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Porter asks, and Scylla shakes her head.

"Not now, Porter. I have to make sure my girlfriend doesn't break her neck."

He frowns but lets her push past him to run out the door and down the driveway. Scylla takes a sharp left down the sidewalk, cursing the stupid concrete wall that separates the two driveways.

When she reaches the front lawn next door, she finds Raelle slumped against the base of the tree.

"Rae?" Scylla calls out and jogs towards her when Raelle perks up.

"Scyl. I can't reach the branch," Raelle says as soon as Scylla crouches in front of her and Scylla peers up at the lowest branch. It's at least a good six feet above. Even standing there is no way either of them could reach.

"Why do you want to climb the tree?" Scylla asks and shifts, so she is sitting cross-legged on the grass.

"Because I'm a bear and bears can climb trees, duh," Raelle mumbles, her head bobbing a little, causing her Winnie the Pooh hood to slip further down her face and Scylla giggles.

"Of course, my apologies."

"What are you doing here? Did you want to climb the tree too?" Raelle asks, tilting her head back, so it's now resting against the trunk of the tree, and Scylla sends her a soft smile.

"No, no tree climbing for me. I was just worried about you. I didn't want you to get hurt in your climbing."

"Oh."

Scylla hums in response and reaches out to grasp Raelle's hands as silence stretches between them.

After a few minutes of running her thumbs over Raelle's knuckles and Raelle staring at her in a daze, Scylla finally speaks.

"I'm sorry I was spending all night with Porter. I didn't realize until Abigail came to get me. We haven't been in touch for nearly five years, and I forgot how much I missed having him around. And now he has transferred to our school and I got caught up in my excitement of having him living close again. He's my best friend. Or he was. Now I think that title belongs to you," Scylla whispers and Raelle shrugs.

"S'okay."

"It's not Rae. I neglected you, and that is not how you treat someone you care about. I'm sorry I upset you, and it will never happen again. Porter is my past, but you are my present and hopefully my future. I want you, and only you, Raelle. Nothing is ever going to happen with Porter, we learned long ago we are not compatible romantically. But you and I? That chemistry is explosive. No one even comes close to you, and that's the way I want it. I don't think there is a better match out there for me."

Raelle's smile is slow to form, the alcohol clouding her thoughts and delaying her response time, but when she finally understands everything Scylla has said, her smile turns dopey and is quick to spread across her face.

Scylla chuckles and scoots forward until she is resting against the tree next to Raelle, pulling her close.

"You're my favourite human," Raelle mumbles into Scylla's neck, and Scylla smiles, pressing a kiss to Raelle's hair.

"And you're mine."

Raelle grins and snuggles closer to rest her head on Scylla's shoulder, her eyelids drooping every few blinks.

"I have a secret," Raelle whispers after a minute of cuddling and Scylla frowns.

"What's the secret?"

"I was jealous of Porter," Raelle mumbles and Scylla's stomach clenches.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. And I know I shouldn't feel that way because you've never given me any reason to doubt you and the affection you feel for me. But every time you laughed at his jokes, and he mentioned a memory you two share, or he called you Jelly Bean, it made me realize he knows a part of you that I don't. Which again is unfair because we just met two months ago and having only been dating for a week. I shouldn't expect you to tell me everything about yourself and your past so soon. But that's how I feel, and I'm sorry. It's stupid, and it's just my insecurities bubbling to the surface, which I hate. I never want to be the jealous type. I hate that. And the alcohol definitely did not help, and I'm just sorry."

"Hey, there is no need to be sorry. It's how you feel, and I promise it is okay. I would feel the same if I were in your shoes too. We both have insecurities, but that's why we talk about them, right? So they don't consume us."

"Right. Thank you for listening. And being so understanding," Raelle says, lifting her head to meet Scylla's gaze and Scylla cups her cheek.

"You're welcome. Thank you for trusting me with such information. I know it can be hard for you to say what you are feeling."

"I think it's the alcohol. I have no filter at the moment."

Scylla chuckles and leans in to press a soft kiss to Raelle's lips.

"Scyl?" Raelle asks as they pull back, and Scylla quirks a brow.

"Yes?"

"I'm hungry."

Scylla laughs and captures Raelle's lips once again.

"You're adorable."

"Does that mean you will buy me a pizza?" Raelle asks, and Scylla grins.

"I'll buy you all the pizza you want."

"You're my favourite."

~~~~~~~

When Raelle wakes the next morning, she finds that she can't open her eyes. No, wait, her eyes are open, but something is covering them?

With a groan, Raelle reaches up to feel whatever is pressed over over face and quickly identifies it as someone's arm. Raelle lifts it off her eyes and peers up at it before turning to look at the person lying beside her.

Much to her surprise, it is not Scylla. Nor is it Abigail or Tally.

"Can I have my arm back?" Porter grumbles, and Raelle yanks her hand away, allowing him to lower his arm by his side.

"What the fuck?" Raelle bellows, sitting up and scrambling to the end of the bed.

"Shit, not so loud," Porter hisses, and Raelle shoves his leg with her foot.

"Why the hell are you in my bed?"

"Oh, you don't remember? You and I are besties now," Porter says, cracking a grin as he focuses on Raelle.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, you claimed me as your best friend after I bought you two pizzas and a bag of brownies. See?" Porter pulls at the neckline of his shirt, and Raelle's eyes grow wide.

"No."

"Yes."

"There is no way I wrote that," Raelle hisses and Porter's grin widens.

"Oh, but you did."

Raelle thinks she might die from embarrassment as she looks back down at Porter's chest where; _PROPERTY AND NEW BEST FRIEND OF RAELLE COLLAR_ is scrawled in permanent marker.

"Fuck," Raelle mutters, and Porter laughs loudly only to cut himself off when it's too loud for him in his hungover state. Raelle also grimaces and rubs at her temples as her focus now turns to how shitty she feels.

Her stomach is twisting, and there is a sour taste a the back of her mouth that she ignores. And the headache she is feeling just might be her worst yet. It's right behind her eyes, and any slight movement she makes with them feels like mini knives are stabbing her brain.

She needs water and some pain medication. And Scylla.

"She left that there. Said she would be on the couch if you needed her," Porter murmurs and Raelle blinks out of her miserable thoughts.

"What?"

"Scylla. She left the water and meds for us. And if you are looking for her, she is in the living room."

"How did you..." Raelle trails off and Porter sends her a tiny smile.

"Your face got all twisted and pouty. Kind of easy to tell you are feeling like crap and generally when you feel that bad you want comfort. It wasn't hard to put two and two together."

"Oh."

"Mmhmm. Now drink the water and leave me to die."

Raelle snickers and gets up to take two of the four tablets sitting on the nightstand and gulping down one of the glasses of water, leaving the other for Porter.

Once finished, she heads for the door, only stopping to strip out of her onesie, leaving her in her shorts and tank top before she grabs Scylla's hoodie off her desk chair and pulls it on. Reaching the kitchen, Raelle hisses and immediately lifts her hand to block her eyes from the rays of sun beaming through the large bay window. She yanks the drapes closed as she passes, and when Raelle reaches the living room, she finds Scylla curled up on the large sectional under a mountain of blankets.

Raelle grins. She is too cute.

Carefully Raelle lifts the blankets and slides in behind Scylla, wrapping her left arm around her waist and pressing close until her nose is buried in Scylla's hair.

"Mmm, Rae?" Scylla rasps, and Raelle hums, tightening her arm around Scylla.

"It's me, Angel. Go back to sleep," Raelle whispers, and Scylla sighs, melting into Raelle's embrace.

"M'kay."

It doesn't take long for Raelle to fall back asleep listening to Scylla’s soft, even breathing.

~~~~

The next time she wakes, it's to the sound of loud whispering. Cracking one eye open Raelle catches the movement of two figures in the kitchen, and even with blurry vision can tell it's Abigail and Libba.

"This never happened, got it?" Abigail hisses, and Libba scoffs.

"Fine by me."

"I'm serious, Swythe; this means nothing."

"Yeah, whatever Bellweather," Libba says as she angrily yanks on her jacket. " I gotta go."

Abigail nods once and watches Libba head for the door her arms crossed, and Raelle thinks she is going to let Libba leave when she suddenly speaks up.

"Fuck. Swythe, wait," Abigail calls quietly, and Libba pauses, one shoe shoved on her foot. Abigail crosses to the door in three long strides and then her mouth is crashing against Libba's.

Raelle's eyes widen, and she has to slap her hand over her mouth to stop from squealing.

When Abigail pulls back, Libba is pressed against the door gasping for breath and looking confused but happy.

"I thought you said-"

"I know what I said. What I said was fucking stupid, alright? I can't keep pretending what happened last night was because of the alcohol. I had two drinks for crying out loud. I wanted it to happen, and I think I've wanted it for a long time now. I'm sorry I was a bitch earlier. I panicked, and when you agreed without a fight to pretend it didn't happen, I thought maybe I was the only one who felt something last night, so I pushed you away."

"You are so stupid, Bellweather," Libba whispers, and Abigail swallows roughly.

"I am."

"But you're my stupid."

Abigail grins brightly and ducks her head to capture Libba's lips in another rough kiss.

This time Raelle can't keep quiet and shouts.

"Fuck, yes!"

Scylla jolts against her and sits up abruptly while Abigail and Libba spring apart and turn to face the living room with wide eyes.

"Rae, what the hell?" Scylla grumbles rubbing her eyes, and Raelle smoothes her hand down Scylla's hair in apology before all but falling off the couch in her haste to run into the kitchen.

"I fucking knew it! Holy shit. Tally, you owe me a hundred bucks!"

A loud thud echoes from Tally's room, followed by loud cursing before Tally bursts out of her room at a full sprint in nothing but an oversized t-shirt and socks, skidding to a halt next to a grinning Raelle.

"Abigail, please tell me she is lying," Tally pleads, breathless and Abigail glowers.

"You two bet on us?"

"Of course," Raelle says, waving her off. "And I just won. I said you two would have steamy hate-sex last night, and she argued you would end up in bed with anyone but Swythe."

Abigail gapes and Libba watches on with a smug smirk.

"Nice guess, Collar. Craven, you owe her money," Libba says, and Abigail gasps, whirling around to face Libba.

"What the hell, Swythe?"

"What? They were going to find out eventually."

Abigail clenches her jaw as she and Libba stare each other down. After a minute, she sighs and turns back to Tally and Raelle.

"She's right, Tally, you owe Collar."

"NOOOOO!"

"Yes!"

"Hey! Some of us are still trying to sleep in here!" Porter shouts from Raelle's room and Raelle cackles before bounding over to the couch, where Scylla has now sat up and discarded the blankets.

"Babe, cancel all your plans, dinner is on Tally tonight."

Scylla grins and curls up against Raelle.

"Lobster?"

Raelle presses a kiss to Scylla's cheek. "All the lobster you want, Angel. All the lobster you want."

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to make a Porter a douche in this fic but I think it's more entertaining when an ex is genuinely a kind person and the current love interest hates that they can't hate them.
> 
> Also, did I just bring life to a Porter/Raelle brotp? Yes, I think I just did.
> 
> The link to the onesies if anyone wants a visual. (Imagine them in adult sizes): https://images.app.goo.gl/gwEc3fJorfZNaWdk6 
> 
> Up next (Part 9): Raelle, Scylla, Abigail and Tally decide to have a Friendsgiving when their parents are all away for Thanksgiving.
> 
> Thank you for reading and leaving comments/kudos on every part of this series. I love you all!


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